The London Way
by 1DerfulMillie
Summary: One Direction FanFic London is full of misteries and secrets as Millie and Emily discover. With a little help from Niall, Liam, Louis, Harry and Zayn, some shocking truths are revealed...
1. New Beginnings

**Chapter 1: New Beginnings **

"Millie, I'm going to the local, do you want anything?" Emily had always been there for me, ever since the first day at high school when we were awkwardly placed next to each other as part of our forms seating arrangement. We clicked instantly and grew so close that I treated her like my sister. We were best friends and we knew everything there was to know about each other! This is why it came as no surprise when she didn't wait for my reply. "Let me guess, you want a chocolate bar right? The biggest one I can get, you have! Bye!"

'Thanks Ems!" I heard the door slam shut behind her and I couldn't help giggle! Every day I was constantly reminded me of our new life down in London! I can't even lie and say I want my old life back, although it goes without saying that I missed it. London had a different way of living, a way that neither of us was used to. Cars were a rare sight in the city centre; we mainly saw busses and taxis. That is a thing I loved about London: the way it kept its tradition going. I loved seeing the red busses and the all of the tourists walking aimlessly around just for the experience! I used to be like that once, I can remember coming when I was a child and going around with awe basically tattooed on my head! It's crazy to think that we are starting a new life here, me and the bestie in London. We always dreamed of it and somehow it came true! London; our new home! Miles away from our families and the lifestyle was miles away from Blackburn!

"Knock, Knock!" A sweet Irish voice spoke the actions that the person on the other side of the door was doing. "Come in Niall, its open!" The door opened and in came a young lad who was in his late teens. His blonde, Bieber like hair styled almost exactly like Jedwards, which came as quite a shock. I burst into fits silent laughter, not wanting to offend him. He was wearing a Jack Wills hoody and faded denim jeans with a pair of white Nike trainers. "Now that is dangerous, how do you know it was me and not some weird bloke pretending to be Irish?" His heavenly Irish voice caressed my eyes and as I let out a light giggle I noticed he was smirking. "Well, you see Niall, you have a very distinctive voice!" I watched as the smirk turned into a lopsided grin, the kind that made his eyes sparkle with happiness. A genuine smile.

I had only known Niall a week. We, me and Emily, met him when we were moving our furniture to our apartment. Without stopping and asking us if we wanted help, he just came and took the box I was carrying and helped us up to the room. Emily thought he was quite handsome and you couldn't miss the huge grin she had on her face every time he spoke to her, a simple hi was all it took to get her beaming! After that day, we only saw each other twice. He blamed his demanding 'work commitments' and I couldn't help raise my eyebrow before laughing at his enthusiasm. In the three times I had bumped into Niall on the corridor, he was always the first to speak. I was a little shy and didn't really know how to act around people I didn't really know, I'm guessing he picked this up. He always made me feel comfortable and that was one the traits I liked most about him.

"So Niall, urm can I help you with anything?" I hesitantly asked.

"Well, you have just moved in right, and I'm your neighbour and everything so I think it's time I gave you and your friend Emily a little tour of London, Niall style!"

"Niall style?" I had to ask, although my instinct told me not to, in fear of a crazy answer. I sat there while he explained he wanted to treat us to Nandos and then introduce us to his friends before taking us onto one of the tour buses so we could 'experience London thoroughly'. The whole time I struggled to keep my face straight, but as he exclaimed that last sentence in an over excited way, I couldn't help but let the smirk spread across my face. "Urm Niall, why do we have to go Nandos? It's like 2:30, me and Ems have had lunch; we got a salad from the café across the road!"

"A salad? That is it? How can you survive on a salad? We're going to get you some real food! And besides, that's where we are meeting the lads!" One thing I learnt quickly about Niall is that he has a passion for food that I have never seen in any man before! "Which people exactly will we be meeting?"

"My work mates; see I wasn't making it up! I have a proper job and I'm dedicated to it! Haha, and whatever you do you have to come because Harry quite likes the sound of Emily and well, I just want you to!" His grin was now spread widely across his face but his eyes were full of questions. I looked at him, no not at him, into his magical blue eyes and smiled sheepishly "Course I'll come, don't want to disappoint your little work friends now do I! Haha"

"Great, we can't have you two newbies wondering around London city on your own, not without an experienced guide!"

"Experienced guide?"

"Yeah, well I know London better than you so that makes me more experienced! Even if I have only been living here for five months! We can't have you two sixteen year olds wondering aimlessly around, you will get kidnapped!"

"A little OTT don't you think Niall! And you can't be much older than us anyway!"

"I just turned seventeen actually, about two weeks before you came!"

"Sorry to have missed out on the celebration, bet it was a good one!" I wasn't just asking to be polite anymore, I was generally curious. The more I knew about Niall and his friend's backgrounds, the better chance I had of clicking with the group. "It was, the lads helped me celebrate in quite a way, let's just say that Louis went a bit OTT on the alcohol and ended up trying to kiss a waitress that was about thirty years older than him! And I thought Harry was the one interested in older women!"

"Sounds … eventful" I picked my words carefully, I didn't want to offend Niall but his friends sounded like absolute head cases! "I have one more question before you go: what kind of job hires a seventeen year old lad and makes him so dedicated?"

"One that makes dreams come true!"

He didn't say anything else, he didn't have to. He could clearly see I was hanging on his every word. He left before I could question him back. I was sat on the couch still puzzled when a text came through on my phone. The harsh vibrations woke me from my daydreams as I read the words my phone displayed.

**Heard lots about you, I can tell its gunna be an amazing afternoon! Can't wait to see you, Harry x **

Harry. Niall must have given him my number. I made a mental note to quiz him about it later. As I was putting the phone back in my pocket, the handle turned and a slightly flustered Emily stepped through the apartment door. "Oh my word it's windy out there today! Your chocolate bar's on the side! Millie, are you alright?" She placed the bag of groceries on the side and started to peel of her coat.

"Put your coat on Em, and get your scarf too, we're going out!"


	2. First Impressions

**Chapter 2: First Impressions**

They say first impressions count right? Well if that saying happens to be true, my first impressions of the lads totally threw me! Somehow, I had always imagined they would be a lot older than Niall, in their mid-twenties at least, but they were just like me – normal teenagers who just like messing around and having fun! They didn't take life too seriously and they seemed to like me for who I was! This shocked me a bit, I have to say. I'm not used to meeting people, it scares me and it has done since I was a little kid. I have this massive phobia of making new friends, weird I know but true! So I was so glad that they appeared to like me straight away, it made getting to know them a lot easier!

Another thing that shocked me was there were five of them. Niall had only mentioned Harry and Louis so I thought they were only a gang of three, trust Niall to leave out this information! The other two were Liam and Zayn; they both had clear differences but gelled together and with the rest of the group as if they had all grown up together.

This was a fact I learnt almost instantly, they were from different parts of Britain too and none of them had lived in London before. This made me more inquisitive, so again I asked Niall what he did for a living, only to get a reply of Zayn. "Has he not told you yet? I'm surprised really seeing as he talks about you quite a bit! Anyway, you know the little programme called the XFactor? Well we happen to have auditioned and been placed together as a band!"

"Oh wow! That's amazing! You gunna be on the television and everything?" Even as I spoke the words, it seemed unreal. I heard Emily let out a small squeal and we exchanged similar glances. Why hadn't Niall told us before, didn't he trust us? Putting it down to him only knowing us for a few days, I pushed the thought out of my mind and waited for the boys reply.

"Yeah, well we leave for the live shows in about two weeks. I love this job; I'm like living the dream! Plus I met four amazing guys who I could pass of as my brothers!" Zayn sounded so enthusiastic, his voice went all high and squeaky and I noticed the gleam in his eye as he spoke.

This is what I loved about Zayn; if he loved something or was passionate towards it he wasn't afraid to express so. This allowed the conversation to flow and we were frequently talking about our different loves in life, my biggest being my friends and family, and Zayn's being his music. He told me and Ems all about his passion for his decks and how he loved to DJ. His dark skin was quite the opposite of mine and made me look, in Niall's words like 'an English rose'. I was also in love with the way he styled his hair. The boys told us of how vain he was and 'Zayn the Vain' was always thrown into the conversation; mainly by Louis who I learnt was the prankster of the group!

Despite being the oldest one of the lads, Louis certainly didn't act like he was an eighteen year old! His immaturity amazed me and I couldn't help but laugh at his childish pranks and jokes. I knew we would get along straight away; we had almost matching personalities and shared the same sense of humour. He never failed to put a smile on my face and I knew I had made a friend I defiantly didn't want to lose. Liam, despite turning seventeen in August, a few days before Niall, was defiantly the most mature. His attitude was more developed and adult like and this meant he was easy to talk to if I needed a serious conversation. However, there was no denying that the boys brought out his cheeky younger side, and when they all smiled at you, you couldn't help but grin back, as their happiness was definitely infectious!

Harry had Emily smitten right from when she laid eyes on him and you could clearly see why. He had a cheeky lopsided grin that he flashed whenever he was happy. This grin made a winning combination with his bright blue eyes and messy brown curls. He had Emily hung on every word he said and every five minutes you would hear her infectious little giggle fill the room. We hadn't spoken much, but when we did it became clear that the little boy from Holmes Chapel couldn't wait to explore the world. He made me laugh with tales of his childhood and all the boys had me in awe when they described their dreams and ambitions.

I'm glad Niall forced my out to lunch because I knew, from the moment we all started talking that we would become quite close and would remain in contact, even if the boys became famous and made their success global.

The rest of the day went by so quickly that it was almost a blur. It was packed full of laughs, cheekiness and fun and me and Em couldn't have been more happy when we arrived home. Much to our delight the other boys lived a few doors down, so we didn't have to walk home alone. After saying goodbye to everyone Louis managed to drag Harry away from Emily, but before he left Harry managed to plant a kiss upon her cheek. Liam and Zayn made their goodbyes quick but slipped me there numbers before thy left so we could text later that night.

As Emily unlocked the door and sneaked inside, I found that it was only me and Niall left. I decided to take this time to thank him for a great day. "Well thanks Niall"

"Anytime Billie!" Billie, the nickname the lads gave me when they decided to test my patience! I couldn't help but laugh. I glared at him before playfully pinching his arm knowing I couldn't hurt a fly. He lifted his head and stared at me with puppy dog eyes. "That hurt y'know!"

"You kidding me? Haha, Niall I couldn't hurt a fly!"

"It's nothing a hug couldn't fix…"

"Oh okay then!" He opened his arms and I buried my head into his chest. He was a couple of inches taller than me which made it a perfect hug. He held me longer than what I possibly should have let him but I was so comfortable that I refused to move. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close and protecting me. He gently rubbed my back and the sweet aroma of his aftershave mixed with his natural sent was all I could smell. After a few minutes I pulled away, knowing Emily would get curious if I wasn't back soon.

"You okay now?" I asked trying to hide my tiredness.

"Perfect, I'm just perfect! Sweet dreams Millie; my doors always open if you need me, na'night!"

"Night Nialler!" I turned around to hide the grin on my face and slipped back inside. I took out my phone and text Liam, Zayn and Harry the same thing:

**Thanks for a great day, Millie x x x **

I stripped myself of my day clothes and pulled on my jammies before brushing my blonde hair which the wind so kindly messed up. I turned my phone off, brushed my teeth and climbed into my long awaited bed. Warmth surrounded me and I lost myself in my thoughts. I could hear Emily lightly snoring and knew she hadn't heard me sneak back in. My memory re-winded back to what Zayn told me earlier in the day _'He talks about you quite a bit!"_. Back then I pretended not to notice but now it was playing on my mind, those words constantly on repeat. I smiled lightly and pulled the sheets over my head. Today had been one of the best days I've had in a while!


	3. I Should've Kissed You

**Chapter 3: I Should Have Kissed You**

I sleepily checked the alarm. It energetically flashed 3:30 back and forth. At least one of us had energy! Why was I awake so early? After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning I crawled out of my warm fortress and walked steadily into the kitchen. I grabbed my self some digestives from the cookie jar and pored myself a glass of milk. I turned the latch on the door, cautious of the clicking sound. Not wanting to wake Ems I tiptoed out the apartment and found myself walking across the hall to Niall's place.

Without thinking I knocked on his door three times before waiting. What if he didn't want to see me? I reassured myself, telling my brain that he said his door was always open. Praying this was true, I waited some more. After five seconds the door slowly opened and a rather sleepy looking Niall poked his head around the door. "Millie?"

"Sorry Niall, I couldn't sleep…"

"Its okay, come in! I see you brought refreshments too, you know me too well!"

I suddenly realised I was still holding my cookies and milk. I giggled at my stupidity. "Sure you don't mind Niall?" I questioned his decision as I stepped warily into his apartment. A familiar smell came rushing back to me, Niall's natural smell! I couldn't help but smile.

"Course I don't mind, I couldn't sleep anyway. I thought I'd watch a bit of morning TV but it's full of crap! I'm kinda glad you came." He smiled and for the first time I realised that he was only wearing his boxer shorts. Looking back at the ground again, I fumbled with my fingers. He ran into his bedroom and quickly changed into some trackies and a JW hoody. He motioned me to the sofa and as I went to sit down something on the side table caught my eye. Song lyrics.

"Do you write a lot of songs then Niall?" I watched as he blushed. I could tell straight away I shouldn't have asked but my curiosity got the better of me. "Kinda, I do it when I want to relax or can't express my emotions properly. It's a way of clearing my system I guess" I picked up the lyric sheet and without thinking I started to sing some of the words that were so neatly written on the paper.

"_Every morning when I leave my house, I always look for you! Yeah! I see you every time I close my eyes, what am I gunna do?"_

I looked up to see Niall staring at me. "Sorry, I'm a really bad singer; I didn't do your song any justice!"

"What? Your voice is beautiful!"

"Really? Thanks! So you got a girl this was meant for? Wait, you did write this for a girl didn't you? Haha!"

"Yes, yes I did write this for a girl, a really pretty girl with stunningly blue eyes and a gorgeous smile!" as he spoke I noticed him smiling and looking in my direction. "She is beautiful…"

"So you wrote it for her then?"

"Well, yeah. I don't exactly know how to say I like her to her face…"

"Just be honest with her Niall, if she doesn't like you then she is stupid! I know for a fact that if it was me I would be incredibly flattered!"

"Yeah? You don't think I should work my Irish charm? Haha!"

"That comes through in your eyes" I gave him a cheeky wink and placed the piece of paper back where it came from. "Really, my eyes?" he sounded puzzled as he spoke and I could see a cryptic smile start to spread across his face. "Yeah, so anything else I can help you with?" I laughed; I loved helping people with their problems. I liked to think of myself as a strange agony ant! "Urm, not for now but maybe later!"

"Oh okay…" I didn't mean to sound miffed and I think he thought I was offended by his answer.

"Sorry, I can see you like sorting things out!" He pulled me in closer for a hug. I was so tired I just flopped into his arms and rested my head on his chest. "Don't worry, you didn't!" I said reassuringly.

"Good! You know, whenever you need advice about guys or your relationships come to uncle Niall! I'm always happy to help seeing as you helped me!"

"Urm Uncle Niall? LOL! And doubt I'll get a boy anytime, I think I scare most guys away haha!"

"You kidding me? You are a little stunner! You're insecure, and I don't know what for! You gorgeous!"

"I wish more people thought like you! And hey, you could put that in a song!"

"Awhhhh, Millie! You flatter me! And whoo maybe I will put it in a song! Which part?"

I stuttered my words as I started to sing what he just said. _"You're insecure, don't know what for!"_

"_You're turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or!"_

"You continued the song?" I asked puzzled?

"Yeah, and I quite enjoyed singing with you! We made an awesome song!"

"Yeah, yeah we did! Well you know what they say, great minds think alike!" I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and I could see a satisfactory grin creep across his face, he was defiantly happy with my answer!

The idle chatter continued for about another hour and I felt us growing closer and closer together. My eyes slowly closed and before I knew it, it was roughly 10:30. As my body began to wake up, the realisation that I was still snuggled up close to Niall hit me like a brick! "Morning sleepy head! Sleep well?" His sweet Irish voice was like music to my ears.

"Yeah, you know Niall Horan, you make a really comfy bed!"

"Well, I like to try my best! Breakfast?" He asked so politely and I honesty wanted to say yes but I knew I had to get back to Emily, she would be getting worried! "Urm, I have to get back to Emily, but thanks for the company!"

"Anytime princess!"

"Princess?" Joy filled my insides; no guy had ever called me princess before apart from my dad!

"Urm, sorry. Why don't you come over tonight and we can to a restaurant or something? My way of saying thanks for keeping me company last night? We have a meeting with Simon about the band but after that I'm free, pick you up at 7?"

"Sounds lovely, have fun at your meeting" I said it half-heartedly not wanting to sound too miffed that he didn't mean to call me princess. I peeled myself off the sofa and opened the door. "Bye Niall!" I closed it quietly and looked around, hoping that I could sneak back in unnoticed. I thought I was off the hook and I let me self in silently cheering in my head until I tuned around only to be met by three pairs of eyes. Emily, Harry and Louis.

"Been having some alone time with Niall then have we?" Louis joked.

"No, I just couldn't sleep so I went round and we talked about stuff! Nothing happened, I promise. I don't know him well enough yet!" No matter how hard I protested, they kept attacking me with jokes and digs. Just before I managed to Harry and Louis out, Harry turned very serious. "Just leave a note next time yeah? We don't want Emily getting panicked again! And Louis was worried about you too!"

"Sorry guys, I didn't mean to stay that long, I just drifted off to sleep!"

"Don't worry about it Millie, at least you got some sleep! All I heard from this one was Millie this, Millie that, when do you think we will see her again, blah, blah, blah!" Harry was laughing as he spoke and I saw Emily giggle too but out of the corner of my eye I saw Louis look down at his espadrilles. "Oh shut up Hazza!" I decided it was best to defend Louis; after all, no one likes being embarrassed do they?

After I pushed them out our door, I went to change out of my jammies and freshen up; I also took the opportunity to lay out my dress for tonight. I choose to wear a mini, tight fitting black dress with skinny silver belt and silver accessories. I like silver; it highlights the blue in my eyes. I turned my phone back on and placed my jewellery on my desk, ready for tonight. I went to get my black suede heels out of my wardrobe and place them next to my desk when my phone vibrated. I read the message and couldn't help but grin.

**Thanks for sticking up for me, you're the best :D and btw, you look really cute in those jammies ;) Lo **

I assumed Harry had passed on my number. I told myself I was to tell them off and give them a lecture on why giving out my number was bad! I couldn't help but giggle; I had grown to like these five guys that walked into my life in the past few days.

**No problem, you didn't look too bad yourself ;P Mxx**

Even as I typed back, I couldn't help but laugh to myself once more. Trust Louis to comment on my cow print jammies and tank top! I could grow to like this boy!


End file.
